Guidance From A Folktale
by WhiteStar the Undecided
Summary: During a trip to the desert to see the blossoming desert flowers, a little girl gets lost in the middle of the nowhere without a soul to guide her. However, seeing a her hero reminds her to be brave, and to continue forward even in the face of fear.


This is about my original, very first Rango character made back before I even saw the movie. I redid her alittle, but she's the same old girl she was. Cept this of course is just over twenty years ago for her. I do not own Wyatt, he belongs to my friend Sargesgrl12 from her story Awake and Alive. I recieved permission to mention him and the design of his gravesight and the cemetary is also hers. I just own my girl and her father.

I do not own Rango, whom belongs to its respective owner.

Nor do I own Wyatt who belongs to my friend.

I own Carmen and her father.

* * *

She had known better. She had _known _better. But still she had slipped into the forest right out from under her father's nose.

They had come from high up in the mountains, a great distance away. Thousands of miles her father had told her, so they could see the rains come to the desert and watch all the desert flowers blossom and bloom. They were early by a day or so, but still she couldn't wait. Leaving her father behind in their temporary den, the young snake had vanished into the night, eagerly searching for the elusive desert flowers she had heard so much about. Yet, even as she traveled farther and farther from the safety of her father, still she could see no flowers. Not even buds. Sure she saw a few cacti, but they weren't the kind her father had described. These were brown and covered in long leaves. No flowers there.

Pouting softly, the white bow around her neck wilting a bit, the child looked away and decided she was too tired to continue searching. Maybe in the morning after breakfast.

"Daddy, can I have a snack?"

When she received no answer, it made her pause. Her Daddy always answered her. Always. Turning this way and that her eyes searched the flat desert for the sight of their den and her father. "Daddy? Daddy where are you? Come on out Daddy." Still she received no answer. As the silence continued, a whimper rose up from her throat and she drew her coils closer to her as she looked all around. "Daddy?"

Instead of the soft and subtle southern twang, there was a loud howling sound that sent hard shivers down her spine. "DADDY!" Snapping forward the rattlesnake shot forward and headed farther and farther into the desert in terror, wanting to find somewhere to hide, somewhere to wait for her Daddy to find her. But the more she glided over the sand, the farther and farther she got away from any sort of safety. It was only the dark skies and the lack of owls that kept her from harm.

As far as she could see there were only more of the strange leafy cacti, their strange figures looming over her like monstrous serpents poised to strike at her. Shaking her head hard, ignoring the tears pouring from her eyes, she continued on. Too afraid to stop and see just where she was. Finally, after what seemed to be forever, she could make out shapes in the distance. Shapes that were definitely not more cacti. Her heart fluttered a bit in her chest as a smile slipped onto her features. Perhaps someone there could help her. Maybe they would know where she was.

With the prospect of seeing her father again and be back safe in his coils in her thoughts, the child sped up to the best of her abilities, eager to seek the help she needed. However…the closer she became, the farther her smile slipped away. As she came upon the outskirts, she realized that it wasn't a town. It was an old graveyard. Older than her Daddy. Maybe older than her Great Grandpa. Swallowing and trembling softly, the five year old slipped through the gate bars, near clinging to the earth as she weaved her way through the tombstones and mausoleums. Everything was old, some markers were falling apart and there were old, dead trees, creeping dark weeds and briars that tugged at her soft scales.

The farther she went, the more terrified she became. At least…at least until a brief glimpse of white in the corner of her eye caught her attention. There, all alone in a clearing of white marble was a solitary grave marker, a few thorny vines weaving their way across it. Temporarily forgetting her fear, she crept forward, across the cold marble to the marker, her pale eyes grazing across it before focusing on the name carved across it.

With a soft tilt of her head, she lifted her tail and lightly traced the letters carved into the old headstone. Doing her best to spell out the name and pronounce it to the best of her abilities. "W…y….a..tt…Da…ni…el…Sl..a…ten…Wy-att, Dan-iel, Sla-ten. Sla-ten. Slaten. Wyatt Slaten." Her eyes lightly blinked as the name rang a soft bell in her head. She knew that name. She knew that name well. And she remembered him. Or at least, what she had been told.

"_There ain't never been a snake as famous as him darlin'. Not a single one."_

"_But why?"_

"_Well he was a hero. He may have been an outlaw, but he darn near had a heart of gold He stood up for folks like us. You know what they used to call him?"_

_Her head shook softly as she looked up at her daddy with wide, bright eyes. The larger snake chuckled and leaned down to her level. "They called him, Robin Hood of the Old West."_

_If possible, the child's eyes widened ever farther in wonder, her mind a whirl with images and scenes. Dozens of daydreams about the famous outlaw went one after the other, making her wriggle excitedly. "I wanna be a Robin Hood Daddy! I wanna be just like him!" Her father chuckled softly, setting her into bed as he did. "I'm sure you will be one day darlin'. But for now you best get to sleep."_

"_Aw…"_

With a blink the memory was gone and she wilted, her loneliness creeping back under her scales. The tiny rattlesnake whimpered softly, drawing what little coils she had closer. The desert was far colder than her forest home up in the mountain, despite such a high altitude. As a chilled wind brushed across her scales, a shiver went down her spine, making her press closer to the tombstone in hope that it would provide some shelter.

Though even she knew it wouldn't do any good, the child called out for her father, for anyone, despite knowing no one was there to hear her. All she wanted was to go home, to be snuggled into her father's coils by the fire. But she knew that was a slim chance. A false hope. No one was going to find her. She was never going to get home.

"Mr. Wyatt, what do I do…I want Daddy…I want to go home…"

The longer she lay there, the more she began to replay her father's stories in her mind; tales of the large rattlesnake's courage, bravery, and heart. Sometimes she swore she could see him, his white and pale yellow scales, the sun making them shine. Her head would turn to look around her, wonderingly, but every time it simply proved just how very much alone she was.

"What would you do Mr. Wyatt?" Her eyes went to grave marker, looking over his name again and softly tilting her head. "Not sittin' here like me…But I'm too little…I shouldn't have left Daddy…He said not to…" A few tears prickled her eyes, blurring the white marble in her vision before suddenly she shook her head hard. "You never give up! So I won't either! I'm gunna find Daddy and go home!" The rattlesnake smiled, her tail wriggling and causing her rattle to shake and sound with joy. She was going to find her Daddy and no one was going to get in her way.

With every ounce of excitement in here, she near shot out of the clearing towards the northern gate from where she came only to skid to a stop, her eyes going back to the tombstone. Lowering them she softly rubbed the back of her neck, brushing the fabric of her bow. Whenever her father took her to visit the graves of her ancestors, they always left flowers. But…she didn't have any flowers. And there weren't any around as far as she could tell.

"What do I…Oh!" Her smile returning, the little snake darted back over to the marker, coming to a stop before it. "I don't have any flowers Mr. Wyatt. But I hope you like this instead." Pulling on the end of her ribbon, she let it fall into her coils before managing to get it back into a messy bow. Giggling softly she reached up as far as she could and laid the bow atop the marker, a single wild geranium charm dangling over the edge and resting on the face of the grave marker. Smiling and wagging her rattle softly, she gave a polite nod before heading for the gate. "I'm coming Daddy. I'll find you." Just as she slipped out of the gate between two of the bars, she heard the cry of a familiar voice.

"Carmen!"

Her eyes widened and her head snapped to the side to see a large Timber Rattlesnake making his way towards her. Just the sight of him made her smile wider than she ever had before in her entire life.

"Daddy!"

Not even bothering to lecture her about leaving, the worried father scooped up his daughter into his coils and cradled her close, nuzzling her as light as he could in his relief. "Thank the lord your safe…" The child smiled, snuggling tight to him, her eyes flicking to the cemetery. As tears flowed down her cheeks she raised her tail and softly waved goodbye as her father began taking her home. Making sure she stayed close the entire way.


End file.
